1. Field
Systems and methods related to crystallization of layers on substrates, for example silicon/silicon-containing layers on substrates such as glass, are disclosed.
2. Description of Related Information
Known technologies have included crystallizing amorphous/poly silicon on glass. Some disclosures, for example, teach melting of amorphous silicon and re-crystallization without a seed layer. These methods may use excimer lasers, such as in wide use in the LCD/TFT display industry.
Other existing methods describe sub-melt anneal of silicon wafers. These techniques, however, pertain to full silicon wafers (without glass substrates) and are used for annealing regions such as source/drain junctions in advanced CMOS technology.
One problem of such melt and re-solidification techniques is that they generally involve processes that cause high stresses, which are unsuitable for silicon films. These drawbacks often limit the grain size and film quality achievable by such techniques. Here, for example, sub-melt anneal of silicon wafers is typically accomplished by a CO2, laser which has a very large absorption depth. Accordingly, these techniques cannot be used for thin films on substrates such as glass, inter alia, because they would damage the substrate during anneal.
As set forth below, one or more exemplary aspects of the present inventions may overcome such drawbacks and/or otherwise impart innovations consistent with the systems and methods herein via crystallizing layers or films on substrates involving sub-melt features, achieving layers or films of reduced defects and stress, etc.